LATROBE, Pa.  Ben Roethlisberger, who gained a few pounds but hasn't lost any of the confidence from his unbeaten rookie regular season, looked downfield during the Pittsburgh Steelers' first training camp practice Tuesday and found an open receiver.

A few plays later, he did it again. Then again. Antwaan Randle El and Cedrick Wilson made most of the catches, and rookie Fred Gibson of Georgia made the best of all, an over-the-shoulder grab in traffic for more than 40 yards.

The passing game was so effective that it was almost as if the starting receivers from the last five seasons, Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress, weren't there. Which, of course, they weren't.

While his teammates are optimistic Ward will end his three-day holdout, report to camp and get his contract extension settled, the Steelers are moving on without the four-time Pro Bowl receiver and acknowledged vocal leader of the offense.

As backup-turned-starter Randle El said, what choice do they have?

"They're going to get this straightened out with the organization, and we hope it does," said Randle El, who filled Burress' former spot at split end. "That's what we expect. But we've got good receivers here."

Wilson, a 49ers starter last season, echoed those words after his first practice with the Steelers; the first two days of camp were filled with meetings and running tests, but no on-field work. Wilson was expected to replace Burress, but instead found himself at flanker in place of Ward.

Randle El started seven games last year when Burress was injured, so coach Bill Cowher prefers to keep him at a position he already knows. Burress signed with the New York Giants after the Steelers made no real effort to re-sign him, preferring instead to put their dollars toward keeping Ward.

"My job is to catch passes, punts, kickoffs — whatever they need me to do," said Wilson, who caught 47 passes in a dismally ineffective 49ers offense last season. "Hines is definitely a big part of this team and is a leader, and having him here is definitely a plus. But that doesn't take away from my abilities. I can play split end, flanker, slot, kickoff returner, punt returner."

The Steelers will need such versatility — and no injuries — if the team's first significant holdout in a dozen years becomes a long one. Ward is set to make $1.66 million this season, the final year of a deal he signed in 2001, but wants an extension that would pay him an eight-figure signing bonus.

Ward's bargaining position may have improved Sunday when third-year Cardinals receiver Anquan Bolden agreed to a reworked contract worth $12.42 million more than his former deal. That is approximately the upfront money Ward is seeking from the Steelers, who have never paid so much guaranteed cash at once to any player.

The Steelers' policy is to not negotiate with any player under contract who is not in camp, and director of football operations Kevin Colbert said that won't be altered for Ward. The rule is not universal among NFL teams; Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour's four-day holdout ended Tuesday after he reached a new deal while away from camp.

Ward is so well-liked among his teammates and some are urging him to hang tough in his stance, even if it keeps him away from the team.

"Hines is a smart guy and Hines deserves everything he wants; without a doubt he deserves it," said running back Duce Staley, who held out for 26 days with the Eagles in 2003 without getting a new contract. "I know the high expectations coming into the year, what will be expected. But I know Hines is a man. He's got to stick to his guns."

The Steelers aren't saying if they're fining Ward as much as $6,000 a day, as permitted by the NFL labor agreement. They haven't had a veteran player stay out since running back Barry Foster in 1993, a 20-day holdout that resulted in a new contract not long after he returned.

Ravens' Jamal Lewis free to rejoin team

Running back Jamal Lewis completed a two-month stay at an Atlanta halfway house Tuesday for his role in an attempted drug deal and will join the Baltimore Ravens at training camp on Thursday. Lewis, 25, spent four months in a Pensacola, Fla., prison before entering the halfway house in Atlanta. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of using a cell phone to aid a friend's cocaine transaction in June 2000, shortly after the Ravens made him the overall fifth pick in the NFL draft.

Colts' Saturday among those missing game in Japan

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday missed practice Tuesday because of a strained right hamstring and most likely will not play this weekend in the exhibition opener in Japan against the Atlanta Falcons.

Coach Tony Dungy said the team was awaiting results from an MRI exam to determine the severity of the injury. Saturday, however, will travel with the team.

"Jeff is probably for sure not going to play," Dungy said.

Defensive lineman Raheem Brock, also a starter, could be out with a hip flexor injury but is expected to make the flight.

At least five players, including two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney, will not travel. Freeney has not yet practiced after having offseason shoulder surgery and is on the team's physically unable to perform list.